Do You Know Your Shepherd’s Voice?

I met someone recently, first in three phone conversations and then once in person.  The ‘once in person’ was due to the fact that while I actually didn’t WANT to meet him, I DID want to see his face and the look in his eyes as he poured out his contempt for Christians, church and religion based on a cult-produced belief system.

Mind you, I didn’t KNOW he was in a cult until the day after the meeting…I just knew something was seriously “off.”  At the end of the evening, I was feeling irritated and frustrated but I wasn’t sure exactly why —  beyond the obvious frustration of trying to have a conversation with someone who was more interested in “winning the conversation.”   (Not an argument but a regular conversation…something most people don’t try to “win.”)  Very annoying and confusing if you don’t know your shepherd’s voice…which I will get into a little farther on in this post. 

The next morning, I googled the fellowship called “The Way” that the man belonged to and all of a sudden, everything made sense.  The Way International is a “Christian” cult.  (Here’s just one source, there are many more:  The Way/Cults)

During our phone conversations, while we were each trying to discover the other person’s belief system, I started to notice a pattern.  He would answer any questions I asked with a question of his own and he wouldn’t ever give a straight answer.  When he did answer, he sounded strident, rehearsed and ”canned” and often went off subject and started preaching to me about how the bible was written by God BUT man’s interpretation was incorrect (and also that you had to go to the Greek to fully understand.) 

It was weird and many times during the phone calls, I wanted to hang up and forget trying to talk to him (realizing I really didn’t like him much.)  But I enjoy a good debate, enjoy discussing the things of the Lord and don’t like being “close minded.” I know full well that there is much about life, God, the bible and many other subjects that I’m clueless about so I’m open to learning and hearing new ideas. ( I also was morbidly curious, I must admit.  My spirit knew something was waaaaay wrong but I didn’t know what it was and I wanted to know.)

Whenever he asked a question, he would always ask it in a challenging way such as “Who do YOU say Jesus Christ is?”  I had the feeling that I was being tested and that he had in mind the “right answer.”  It seemed more like interrogation — or being in a classroom where I wasn’t privy to the subject being “taught” — rather than normal conversation.

On the Jesus question, I answered, “The only begotten son of God, my Lord, Savior and best friend.”  He seemed to like that answer and praised me for saying that Jesus was the son of God (like a teacher praises a student — very annoying.)    But then he asked, “Do you believe Jesus is God?”  Something in the way he asked made me hesitate so I turned the tables and answered his question with one of my own.  “Do you?”

Out came the onslaught of anger regarding how stupid Christians are to believe Jesus is God or anything regarding the concept of the Trinity, how the word “Trinity” isn’t in the bible and how it was a tool of satan to deceive believers.  My spiritual alarm bells went off…and not because he didn’t believe in the Trinity…I’ve heard of many people who didn’t believe that concept. 

My alarm bells went off instead from the hatred and contempt in his voice.  It was NOT my shepherd’s voice and to hear it with someone talking about Christian believers and subjects in this manner was particularly creepy.  “Jesus is not God” — “the Holy Spirit does not have personhood” — “the Bible contains many errors through translation and man has messed it up so the word can’t be trusted in the way it’s currently taught in most churches today”…yada, yada, yada…on and on he went.   (Of course, this man has the ONLY truth regarding the bible and the rest of us Christians are fools.)

I believe in the divinity of Jesus and I see personhood ascribed to the Holy Spirit in scripture as well as the concept of the Trinity since Jesus himself said:  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  – Matthew 28:19

Jesus accepted worship unto himself, said “I Am” to the leaders (who immediately cried “blasphemy…crucify him!” because of that statement as well as said things like “I and the Father are one” and “you have seen the Father when you’ve seen me” (and I’m not going to pull out all the scriptures here regarding his divinity.)  He DID say he was the son of God more than anything else but I believe he is part of the Trinity and that all aspects of the Trinity are connected as God, through God and of God.

Jesus comforted his disciples with this passage:  John 14:26 – “These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” - Romans 8:16 and again in Romans 8: 26 - ”And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words”

I see emotions and actions in the following scriptures (and there are many, many more, I’m only using a few here to make the point):  “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.” - Romans 15:30 

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” – Ephesians 4:30

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” – 1 Timothy 4:1

All of these verses point to being, thought and emotion — all aspects of “personhood.”  But that last scripture leads me to my point…the ability as a Christian to fall away from the faith and a call for us to pay attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.  That is what my spirit was so upset about in this brief meeting with a man in a cult. 

I knew what I was hearing wasn’t from God, I knew that all the talk of “going back to the Greek,” the boasting of all the study he’d done and his “superior” knowledge of the bible didn’t matter because I knew in my spirit  that he wasn’t a Christian…I knew that it was NOT my shepherd’s voice coming out of his mouth!

I believe we’re in the end times so to me, that means the doctrines of demons are going to be heard more often and that more people are going to fall for it.  So how do we know whose voice we’re hearing? 

In just this one brief encounter, I can name several things the man said and did that made me know it was the voice of the enemy:

• Wrong doctrine and/or twisting of scripture - doctrine/ scripture definition/ that differs markedly from accepted Christian theology.
   
• Anger, contempt and disregard for the church, other Christians and religion (religion can be funny since it is often said today that “religion is manmade but true spirituality is from God”…that in itself can be a lie of a different sort but also contains some truth. 
   
  Usually, contempt for the church indicates someone who has been hurt or rejected in a church setting…or they were “forced” to go and didn’t like that.  In my opinion, “religion” mentioned in this way usually means “tradition” and many traditions are NOT God given but man made.  The bible says not to forsake gathering together though so I say, “find a church you DO like!”)
   
• Arguments for their viewpoint that sound rehearsed or canned.
   
• Refusal to answer direct questions about scripture but instead tries to draw the conversation back to their viewpoint.
   
• In that same light, many attempts to control the conversation so that their viewpoint is the one being discussed.  Yours is either wrong or doesn’t matter.
   
• Very important – they have the “only right” belief, truth, way of interpreting scripture, etc.  The word of God is wrongly interpreted when YOU have a point but correct when THEY have a point because they’ve “rightly divided the word of truth” (and of course, you, being stupid, deceived or whatever, have NOT figured it out.  There is always an undertone of condemnation, superiority and the method is usually a subtle “put down” of your belief system.)
   
• The last line in the previous point needs it’s own bullet:  the undertone of condemnation and superiority and the “put down” attitude.  One of the ways cults operate is to cause doubt, to put down, to break down, to bend your mind, to brainwash, to indoctrinate…to make you believe like they do.  It’s one of the reasons cults prey on vulnerable people…runaways, single parents, young people, widows, orphans, lonely people, etc.

So what does Jesus’ voice sound like?  How do we know when it’s the Holy Spirit?  How can we tell if almighty God, the maker of us and the universe, is talking to us?  Whether through the still, small voice or a preacher or a friend or a passage in scripture?

• The words NEVER contradict scripture or twist it to say something it does not.  It does not add to nor take away from the bible.
   
• The voice is loving…EVEN when correcting!  All Christians have heard the correction of the Lord but never the condemnation because “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1)   That does NOT mean God does not correct us…but His correction brings CONVICTION of our wrong thinking, actions, etc….and makes us want to change what we’re doing/ thinking.
   
• The spirit inside you agrees with the words/ voice/ knowledge/ correction or whatever is coming your way.  If it’s wrong, you’ll probably have an uneasy spirit, a “check in your spirit” or a strong revulsion toward it.  If it’s true, it may bring conviction/ a desire to do or act in a manner that pleases God/ a strong sense of joy or peace. 
   
• A feeling or sense of joy or peace may not be from the Savior because satan has the ability to masquerade as an angel of light.  So one confirms the word/ message/ prophecy/ thought/ action or whatever through other means. 
   
  Very rarely does the Lord speak to you ONCE about something and then never again. We CAN be deceived but only if we’re being hasty or careless and are prone to running off in our own direction rather than going the way the Lord wants us to go.  I’ve done it, you’ve done it (but hopefully we’ve learned not to since we usually end up regretting going our own way!)
   
• My shepherd’s voice is full of grace and mercy.  People who are wrong aren’t to be mocked or shunned but rather spoken to in love and with an eye toward the truth being known. 

There are other ways to know it’s Jesus but this post is long enough.  My point is most likely to make SURE it’s the Lord before you accept whatever it is that you’re hearing.  Rage, contempt and condemnation aren’t from the Lord and not all people who claim to be Christians are following accepted teaching (even when they know scripture really well and make convincing sounding arguments — the truth is that satan knows scripture better than any of us…)

I want to be sure I’m connected so closely to God that when the enemy’s voice tries to convince me a lie is the truth that I can immediately reject the lie and seek instead the shelter and strong tower of God, the one who will always protect me and keep me from harm.   Jesus’ said His sheep would know His voice.  I want to hear His voice in my life on a daily basis!